Notes of molasses, toffee, and buttered toast.

Oolong tea from Taiwan・April 2022・南投紅水烏龍・EU standard conventional

Nantou Dark harkens to an earlier craftsmanship style that used roasting as a preservation technique. We began with green oolong crafted from the Qing Xin cultivar - and layered on multiple rounds of controlled roasts to transform and enrich its aroma and flavor. The resulting tea is golden and delicious. In Chinese, we call this style “red water oolong” for the scarlet color of the tea liquor.

The source garden is located at 1200m above sea level, from a garden located in the vicinity of Lugu Township in Nantou County, Taiwan. The tea was crafted as a traditional light oxidized oolong: hand-gathered in April, briefly sun-withered, spread indoors to slowly oxidize, bruised, then drum roasted and rolled.

The resulting maocha was then baked over the course of a week, with gradual temperature increases to ensure that the tea clusters were thoroughly dried before subsequent roasts were layered on. This method created a tea with depth and complexity, and significantly extended its life by reducing moisture content. The finished tea clusters are dark caramel in color with a touch of dark green. The tea is sublime. Nantou Dark has notes of molasses, café crème, toffee and buttered toast. Controlled roasting showcases those aromatics without the bitter and burnt notes usually associated with higher fired oolongs. The tea cups sweet and clean. 

Brew: 5 grams・150 ml・208° F・1 min 30 sec

This tea is a wonderful introduction to high fired oolongs. The steep guide will produce a tea that delivers a rich finish without sacrificing sweetness. We suggest higher temperatures and longer steep times for more intensity, lower temperatures and shorter steep times for sweetness.